Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog

(Beyond Pesticides, October 31, 2008) Pittsgrove, New Jersey Township adopted a pesticide-free park resolution at its October 28th meeting. As a result, Deer Pen Park, which includes picnic areas and a playground, will be managed using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and without harmful pesticides.
“We are excited about this because we are the first in [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 30, 2008) In an effort to keep its popular yet toxic herbicide 2,4-D on the market, Dow AgroSciences has filed a notice with the Canadian government claiming that Quebec’s ban on cosmetic use of pesticides breaches legal protections under the North American Free Trade Act (NAFTA). The company is likely to pursue [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 29, 2008) Two of the largest pineapple growers, Dole and Del Monte, have agreed to stop using endosulfan on pineapples grown on their plantations in the Philippines, beginning next year. The companies have opted not to renew their licenses for the use of this highly toxic chemical but instead will consider [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 28, 2008) After eight years of intense scrutiny and criticism, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published on October 23, 2008 a proposed change in the Federal Register to the federal organic regulations intended to address abuses by “factory farms,” which milk thousands of cows in an environment that many would not [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 27, 2008) Six pesticides that threaten water quality and public health continue to be detected in groundwater samples, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study. Published in the Journal of Environmental Quality, the study evaluates groundwater contaminants from samples taken from over 300 wells across the U.S. Over the years, [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 24, 2008) A report to be released October 27 by public health groups and leading Maryland health and elder care facilities documents new practices and policies to eliminate toxic pesticide use. The changes reflect a heightened awareness of the need to protect particularly vulnerable populations from serious health risks associated with toxic [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 23, 2008) Researchers in Illinois have developed a genetically modified grape that is resistant to the toxic herbicide 2,4-D. The development is in response to serious losses grape growers in the Midwest have suffered as a result of the surrounding use of 2,4-D on grain crops. While the new variety may mean [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 22, 2008) Fruits, vegetables and cereals sold throughout the European Union (EU) contain record levels of pesticides, according to an official report to be published later this month by Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe. Almost half of fruits, vegetables and cereals are now contaminated with pesticides –a substantial increase on the level [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 21, 2008) On October 17, 2008, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced that the state will be taking action to address the risks posed by total release foggers, also known as “bug bombs,” in the wake of a new federal report detailing hazards and injuries related to the [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 20, 2008) Organophosphate (OP) pesticides are among a toxic soup of hazardous chemicals found in the bodies of pregnant women, according to an National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) led study doi:10.1016/j.envres.2008.07.014 published in the October issue of the journal Environmental Research. The population-based birth cohort study analyzed urine specimens of [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 17, 2008) A study published in the September 15 issue of Environmental Science & Technology has found pyrethroid contamination in 100 percent of urban streams sampled. Synthetic Pyrethroids are one of the most widely used consumer pesticides, but recently they have been scrutinized for their resultant health and environmental effects. California is [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 16, 2008) Some of America’s most pristine natural places are contaminated with toxic pesticides from illegal marijuana growing operations. Recent busts in the 1800 square mile Sequoia National Park revealed the use of imported and banned herbicides and insecticides in intensive growing sites. Rat poisons, or rodenticides, were also scattered around to [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 15, 2008) Researchers have developed a potential new method of making plants significantly more resistant to pests. Scientists from Lancaster University (UK) have conducted early trials whose results have yielded promise to greatly reduce pesticide by first treating seeds with a chemical that is naturally produced by plants.
This new method involves dipping [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 14, 2008) Exposure to glyphosate or MCPA can more than double one’s risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), according to a new epidemiological study published in the October issue of the International Journal of Cancer. The case-control study finds a 2.02 odds ratio (OR) for exposure (two times the chance of [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 10, 2008) A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology [Vol. 167, No. 8] finds women who have used herbicides are twice as likely to have meningioma, a specific kind of brain tumor. The study, “Occupational exposure to pesticides and risk of adult brain tumors,” was conducted by the National Cancer [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 9, 2008) The Center for Food Safety challenged today U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) new proposed regulations for the oversight of growing genetically engineered (GE) crops, some of which contain insecticides and many of which are herbicide tolerant. It is the Center’s view that while stricter regulation of growing and field testing [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 8, 2008) In May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) abruptly halted its program that tracks pesticide usage in fruits, vegetables and field crops, only to have the U.S. Senate in July put the program back in the 2009 Senate budget bill. USDA cited the $8 million program expense as the reaon [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 7, 2008) After months of grassroots pressure by the Genetic Engineering Policy Project, Center for Food Safety and others, Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 541, The Food and Farm Protection Act, on September 27, 2008. Under this law, farmers that are unknowingly contaminated by genetically engineered (GE) crops in California are now protected [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 6, 2008) University of Pittsburgh researchers have found that the commonly used insecticide malathion can decimate tadpole populations by altering their food chain. The study, published in the October 1 edition of Ecological Applications, finds that gradual amounts of malathion that were too small to directly kill developing leopard frog tadpoles instead [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 3, 2008) Activists and individuals concerned about misleading claims on pesticide labeling scored a victory on Wednesday when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdrew its draft notice on label statements regarding cause marketing and third-party endorsements. After a two-year process of EPA proposals and public comment periods, the agency has determined that [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 2, 2008) Beyond Pesticides and the other members of the National Organic Coalition (NOC) recently sent a letter outlining their concerns over the development of “sustainable” agriculture labeling standards, which are currently under discussion and entering the first phase of draft standards-setting, overseen by the Leonardo Academy under the American National Standards [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 1, 2008) Last week, a jury awarded $1 million in compensation to an organic farm in Santa Cruz, California, whose herbs were contaminated by pesticides. The jury found that organophosphate pesticides, used on vegetables on neighboring farms, drifted onto the organic farm, leaving the herbs in violation of organic standards.
The organic farm, [...]